


Space is No Place to Raise a Child!

by xdluhman (deirdrepaterson)



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Father's Day, M/M, McSpirk Holiday Fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-19
Updated: 2016-06-19
Packaged: 2018-07-16 01:22:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7246516
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deirdrepaterson/pseuds/xdluhman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the McSpirk Holiday Fest, Father's Day.<br/>Prompt from inhumiesblog:<br/>Leonard hasn't told anyone about Joanna. The pain of the divorce, plus loosing his kid was too big. He don't need anyone looking down at him cause he thinks everyone will think he's a bad father. But when he gets a message from StarFleet saying his ex lost custody of Joanna and because he's a special case (they know the Enterprise crew wouldn't survive without McCoy so they're making an exception) he's been allowed to bring her aboard. Leonard will now have to explain to everyone including his boyfriends why a beautiful little girl is running over to him across the hanger of the Space Station they're currently stopped at all the while yelling 'DADDY'. And of course there's media, and it's FATHER"S DAY and the Star Fleet smucks thought they'd make an event out of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Space is No Place to Raise a Child!

**Author's Note:**

> For whatever reason, the prompt seemed like it was supposed to be an AOS prompt, but I write TOS almost exclusively... So I've categorized it as TOS, but it could (sort of) be read with the AOS actors in mind...  
> Also, I kind of missed a few aspects of the prompt, so sorry about that, and I finished this late last night, so please let me know if there any glaring errors/sentences that don't make sense.  
> Enjoy!

Despite his typical complaints about space and its dangers, Leonard McCoy often found the low hum of the Enterprise's engines soothing. Unfortunately, this was just one time where the sound of the engines did nothing for his frayed nerves. On the desk in front of him sat a PADD, delivered earlier in the day by Yeoman Rand. When he had gotten it, he'd been in the middle of making sure Crewman Goodell's two broken legs were properly set and healed. How people forgot that the only thing holding them up in the Jeffries tubes were their limbs, he'd never know. So the PADD had been set aside for later examination.

Reading it had further been delayed by his nightly dinner with Jim and Spock. His boyfriends. For whatever reason, that still seemed strange to him, the fact that he had not one but two boyfriends. Incredible, considering how his marriage had gone down in flames.

Now at last he was back in his quarters, glaring at the PADD, which stated it carried a message from Starfleet Command with the subject line URGENT: Special circumstances, request for child custody. The moment he'd glimpsed that subject line, his blood had run cold. That could only mean one thing: his ex-wife had lost custody of Joanna. And most likely, that meant he was to stop at the nearest Federation spaceport to head back to Earth. For all his complaints, Leonard really did not want to leave the Enterprise, especially because it was home to Jim and Spock.

Minutes passed before, with a heavy heart, he finally opened the message. He read it once. Twice. Three times. Again and again because his eyes had to be deceiving him. What in the hell was Starfleet Command thinking?!

"Well, I was right about one thing," he muttered to himself, scanning over the words one last time. His ex-wife had lost custody all right, but he wasn't going back to Earth. Oh no, Joanna was coming to the Enterprise. "Which fluff-for-brains admiral thought it'd be a good idea to put a child on a deep-space mission?" he snarled, pacing his quarters.

What was worse, by the Earth calendar, the following day was Father's Day, and according to the message, Joanna would be waiting for the Enterprise at Starbase 34 when they docked in about ten hours.

He paced the length of his quarters for nearly an hour before he determined there was no way in hell he was going to sleep. So rather than lie down and stare at the ceiling until it was time to prepare for docking, he made his way to the observation deck. After moving a narrow, armless chair to face away from the window, Leonard straddled it, resting his head on the top and staring out into the endless, terrible void of space.

\-----

He didn't know how long he had been there, or when he had fallen asleep, but he was awoken by a gentle shaking of his shoulders. Feeling stiff and still tired, he refused to move, instead simply making a few muffled, indistinct noises.

"Bones, you should probably get up. We'll be docked in about an hour, but Spock and I need to get back to the bridge…" Jim said from behind him.

Reluctantly, Len removed himself from the chair, turning to face Jim's gentle smile and confused eyes and Spock's eyebrow raised in a manner that suggested they were both concerned for him. He returned Jim's smile. "All right, all right. Y'all go back to the bridge. I'll change my uniform and join you in a jiffy." He pecked Jim on the lips, gently ran his first two fingers down Spock's, and headed back to his quarters.

\-----

He made it to the bridge about half an hour before they docked and proceeded to watch proudly as his partners oversaw Ensign Chekov's first manual docking. Leonard almost wanted to ask Chekov if he was going to tell his family about it, especially since it was Father's Day, but he figured the most likely response would include some claim that Father's Day (or perhaps fatherhood altogether) was invented in Russia.

Once they'd docked, he considered delaying as much as possible, but if Joanna was there already, he didn't want to leave her alone too long. Besides, it had been far too long since he'd last seen her. She was, what, eight years old now?

So instead of delaying, he simply waited until Jim and Spock were ready to head down. As Scotty energized the transporter, Bones reached out and grabbed Jim's hand for reassurance. In the end, he never could decide if that was a good decision or not.

\-----

Almost as soon as they had stepped off the platform, Leonard still clutching Jim's hand, a high voice called out "DADDY!" and a small form barreled right into the doctor's abdomen. Without thinking, he dropped Jim's hand and picked Joanna up. "Oof. Hey there sweetheart. Long time no see, huh?"

As soon as she wrapped her arms around his neck, a series of bright holoimager flashes went off, causing Leonard's eyes to water. He was about to ask what the hell was going on, but Jim spoke first.

"Hey now, what are you people doing? What is this, some sort of celebrity event? Can't you see that Doctor McCoy is busy?"

A nervous looking woman in civilian clothes lowered her holoimager. "We don't mean any harm, Captain Kirk. It's just, today's Father's Day back on Earth, and the admirals thought it might be inspiring to see Doctor McCoy reunited with his daughter. We didn't realize you and Commander Spock would be with him when he beamed down."

Spock raised an eyebrow. "It is logical that the doctor would not beam down alone. Even in friendly territory, it is standard operating procedure to travel in groups."

The woman nodded vigorously. "Of course. Is there any chance we could get a shot of the happy family real quick? You know, without you or the captain?"

Leonard glanced quickly at his boyfriends before making firm eye contact with the woman. "They stay. You want a shot of the happy family, you get a shot of the happy family." The woman looked startled, but neither she nor any of the other media representatives said anything after seeing the hard look in McCoy's eyes. Surprisingly, they simply took their shots and left.

Leonard turned to face the other two, Joanna still in his arms (though she had turned to look at the captain and first officer). "I think we should return to the ship. I know we just got here, but whatever business you need to take care of can wait, all right?"

"Of course. I can see we have a lot to talk about, Bones."

\-----

"And so we got divorced about a year after Jo was born. Jocelyn wasn't-isn't-a bad person. I understand she lost custody of Joanna because she got involved with a woman who turned out to be a wanted criminal on Betazed…"

"Wait, Glia was a criminal? Momma just said I'd never see her again and that I was gonna go live with you," Joanna interrupted, looking concerned.

Leonard pulled her into his lap as they sat across from Jim and Spock in the captain's quarters. "Sweetheart, your mom just wanted to protect you. I love you so much, but I really wish they would've let you stay with her. Interstellar space is no place to raise a child. I was already a Starfleet officer when we got divorced, but I had been teaching and conducting Earthside research. So I started requesting assignments on ships, which was how I met you, Jim, on the Farragut. I did all that and agreed to go on this mission because I figured there was no way in hell that the 'fleet would lose their minds and send Joanna to me. But here we are.

"Now it's your turn, Jim. How on Earth did you not know I was a divorcee and a father? I'd think that would be in my records. I never told you because I thought you, and by extension Spock, knew already."

For once looking slightly awkward, Jim shrugged. "When it comes to the crew, especially my friends, I only look at names and specializations. I've had too many incidents in the past where knowing too much about the personal history of my crew has gotten me into trouble. I figured if you wanted to talk about your family or lack thereof, you'd do it in your own time. I am hurt that you never told me, but I do understand the desire to distance yourself from your past…"

Spock nodded in agreement. "I was aware of your status, but I had not expected it to come up. I also chose not to tell Jim as I was aware of his desire for…unawareness."

Leonard's face was tight. "Now that that's cleared up, I guess you want me to leave. I don't imagine you'd like to stay with a man who could keep such a huge secret from you. I know I implied to the press that we're together, but you're more than welcome to clarify to them…"

Jim looked alarmed. "Are you out of your mind, Bones? You already explained! You thought we knew, I thought you'd talk if you wanted to, so it never came up. We love you, and while we've only just met her, I'm sure I can speak for Spock when I say we love her as if she was ours."

Spock nodded. "Do not ever doubt our love for you, Len. And I would be honored to welcome you into my family, Joanna McCoy, my ko-fu."

The doctor's face had relaxed. "You really mean it? What did I ever do to deserve such forgiving partners?" he said in awe.

Joanna's eyes were comically wide. "You…you mean I'm going to have three dads? And I get to live in space? This is so awesome!"

Jim laughed. "See Bones, I bet this was the best Father's Day you ever had. I can say it's been my best, if only my first."

"I had not calculated that I would ever be a father myself, but now I am glad to know you, Joanna," Spock said, nearly smiling at her.

Leonard just chuckled, shaking his head. "That it was, Jim, that it was."


End file.
